A conventional cable or the like protection and guide device is shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 1 illustrates a cable or the like protection and guide device configured such that a number of spaced pairs of right and left side plates 510A and 510B are connected to each other from a mounting fixed end toward a mounting movable end. In a longitudinal direction of the device, connecting arms 520 are respectively bridged over a flexional inner circumferential side and a flexional outer circumferential side of these side plates 510A and 510B in an alternating arrangement interval such that the arms 520 are bridged over every other one of the connected side plates 510A and 510B. A cable or the like is accommodated in a rectangular sectional cable accommodating space surrounded by these pairs of right and left side plates 510A and 510B and the connecting arms 520 are respectively disposed on the flexional inner circumferential side and the flexional outer circumferential side in a bridged manner along the longitudinal direction of the device.
In such a conventional cable or the like protection and guide device 500, side plates 510A and 510B are each integrally formed of a front side plate portion 511 connected to the preceding side plate portions 510A and 510B, a rear side plate portion 512 connected to the subsequent side plate portions 510A and 510B and a flexible coupling 513 interconnecting the front side plate portion 511 and the subsequent side plate portion 512. A snap-fit mechanism joins adjacent side plates 510A and 510B to each other. The snap-fit mechanism is provided between the rear side plate portion 512 of the preceding side plate and the front side plate portion 511 of the side plate subsequently connected to the rear side plate portion 512.
Adjacent side plates 510A, 510B are removable from each other through these snap-fit mechanisms so that maintenance during coupling and decoupling of the side plates 510A (510B) can be easily attained as set forth in Patent Reference 1, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-250258.